Victim or the hunter?
by BurntDahlia
Summary: Everybody in Shiganshina high knows that it is dangerous to be enemies with Levi Ackerman. Eren finds himself in trouble but will the situation turn upside down? What happens when the bully falls for the victim? Levi x Eren
1. Flammable

**This is first fanfiction I've ever posted!**  
**I changed the ages of some characters.**  
**Disclaimer: I don't own attack on titan nor the characters.**

Shiganshina high. The room was filled with an oppressive atmosphere. Almost as if there was a silent little devil lurking around the classroom, breathing heavily on the students' necks, making them shiver. The clock was ticking loudly and faster than ever, or so it seemed to everybody. Only one person was able to remain calm. The supervisor. Mister Dot Pixis was contently sitting behind his desk in front of the class, reading something, god knows what. There's no denying, he had never really liked supervising exams. Today he was assigned to sit 70 minutes without doing anything. Quietly, in his mind, he wished that the actual teacher, Keith wouldn't have been absent. Now he had 18 young students struggling to complete a history exam. It was obvious that they were really distressed. Fidgeting, sweating, devastated faces. Dot felt almost sorry for them. Keith had always demanded a lot from his students. It was always really difficult to get a passing grade from his exams.

It was half past 11. Only 10 minutes were left before everybody was due to return their papers. Even without looking at the other students, Eren Jäger could feel them panicking. Deep down he was feeling confident with the test, but the atmosphere really made even him a bit fidgety. He was a great student. He always got great results in exams because of his habit of working really hard. He wasn't one of those clever people like his friend, Armin, who could memorize and understand new things without repetition. He really wasn't. But he sure was strong-minded and he would always work hard to achieve his goals, whether it was studying or something else.

Eren was actually bad at history. Not that he didn't like it, he actually enjoyed it and he was probably the most eager student in the class to learn. However, he did find it a bit difficult. He found it really tough to understand the concept of the time. For example, he was terrible at understanding the chronological order of historical events. It would have been so much easier if he would have been there ages ago to experience the events himself. But there's no way that he could have, and he just had to deal with it.

Pixis was really into the book he was reading, but he still noticed how the students started dropping their pens down on their desks. It didn't take him more than two second to realize that they did so because they had run out of time or so he assumed. He had totally forgot about the time, but after taking a quick look at the clock hanging on the wall, he confirmed he was right. He quickly skimmed through the final lines of the book's chapter and then he stood up, and with a sturdy voice he announced the exam was over. "Time's up kids, please stop writing now and bring your papers here. Then you are allowed to leave."

Suddenly the classroom became a bit more lively as students started moving around. Most of their faces weren't looking that lively though. They were relieved that the ordeal was over, yet scared of the upcoming results. The students formed an unorganized line behind Dot's desk. In the line they would hesitantly skim their own answers, before handing in the paper one by one. Nobody said anything before that. As soon as they had done so, they walked back to their desks to grab their bags. Then they would gradually start talking and moving to the door leading to the corridor. Eren was one of the last people to hand the paper in and his eyes were flaming with determination when he did so. He received a cheering but subtle smile from Pixis in exchange for handing the paper in, and that made him calm down the slightest bit.

Eren was still feeling a bit distressed and he didn't pay much attention to his surroundings when moving back from the table. While turning around, he accidentally hit somebody's stomach hard with his elbow and received a silent gasp from the person. Eren quickly pulled his arm back and faced the person, automatically apologizing him. Jäger gave the other person a sheepish smile, before noticing who was actually there, standing in front of him. His smile faded and suddenly a shocked expression crawled on his face. "Don't touch me, dickhead." Eren was looking at a slightly shorter, slender young man with raven black hair, wearing a contemptuous expression on his face. Levi Ackerman.

Everybody at the school was aware of the fact that messing with Levi would lead you to trouble and therefore everyone tried to avoid him. He belonged to the group of the tough guys at school. All the group members looked intimidating, but Levi was something else. He was the most mysterious one without any doubt. In addition to that, he was the most frightening one. His facial expression would often look blank and emotionless. Cold. No one could ever tell whether he was sad or happy apart from his group, if even them. Eren wondered if he had ever smiled a real smile during his life.

Levi would never open his mouth to talk without a reason good enough. A thing that really made him frightening was all the power he seemed to have despite not talking much. If somebody messed around with Levi, they would get beaten by the group before they could even count to ten.

Eren got scared by Levi's face and the deadly voice tone he had used. The brown haired boy felt vulnerable when Ackerman was glaring at him. Eren tried to protect himself like an animal before a predator. "Sorry mister, I really didn't intend to..." he was cut off when Levi in a terribly calm manner said "Shut up and get out of my way. Now." Eren jumped and quickly made way for Levi. Levi had his eyebrows furrowed as he was glaring at Eren, and as he walked past him he would have his intimidating eyes fixed on Eren, and let go when Eren was behind him. Eren rushed back to his desk, quickly grabbed his brown leather bag, and jogged out of the room to avoid any other contact with Levi.

It was sunny outside, there were only a few fluffy clouds here and there. Stepping outside made Eren go blind for a second. It was too bright for his eyes that had got used to being inside. When he could see again, he quickly scanned the school yard with his eyes, looking for his friends. He was really hoping to spot a certain short blonde boy. And so he did. Armin was sitting under a tree, sitting in the shade with another boy. They were far enough that Eren couldn't tell who it was. He had a clue but couldn't be sure.

He walked quickly through the school grounds. Armin waved at Eren when he noticed him approaching. The other guy who turned out to be Jean, had noticed him as well. Apparently they were having a conversation together but Armin was excited to see his best friend. "Eren! You survived! How did it go?" Armin if somebody knew very well that Eren was really panicking about the exam. He even begged Armin to help him study. And of course Armin chose to tutor Eren. After all, he was his best friend.

"I could answer all the questions but it doesn't mean that they were right." He sighed and then he joined Jean and Armin, sitting down on the grass. "I'm sure you did your best" said Armin. He was always trying to encourage his best friend.

They were having a nice casual chat until Jean pointed something out "Why are those thugs looking at us?" and those seven words made Eren freeze. He knew who Jean was talking about without even looking around. Armin scanned the yard and he saw them. A little gang of tough guys was leaning against the walls of the gym. There were only three people. Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, and the scariest guy at the whole school, Levi. "I don't know. Has something happened?" Armin looked worried. Jean noticed that Eren was staring at the ground with shocked eyes and he knew something was off. "Eren, are you okay bro?" he asked and Amin followed "Eren, did something happen between you and them?" Eren shivered and he finally made eye contact with Jean and Armin. "I hit the leader."

"WHAT?!" shouted the two other boys and then Eren explained what had happened after the exam. "I really didn't intend to do so. It was an accident!" Jean was scratching his neck "Well HE sure didn't consider it an accident but an offense." Now Eren managed to look at the gang. Reiner and Bertolt weren't looking at the three friends anymore, but Levi was still looking at Eren with his sharp eyes and a piercing gaze. Eren felt really uncomfortable, shook his head and tried to deny the fact that he had got himself into trouble. "I think you are screwed." Jean mouthed the words.

**How's that? I'd be more than pleased to receive some reviews ^_^  
English isn't my first language and I was a bit nervous about posting this.**


	2. Peculiar

**Thanks for the favourites and reviews people! I'm really excited about this all because this is my first fanfic around here.  
I appreciate your support 3  
Disclaimer: I do not own attack on titan nor the characters.**

Eren had a bad sleep last night. He had been thinking of Levi and the incident, agitated as he was. The picture of Levi glaring at him was stuck in his mind. Levi looked really exquisite, refined and stylish. But his looks also had something else in there. He looked bored, hateful and vicious. You could see it in his eyes. The way he looked at people. Nevertheless, now Eren was too fatigued to think of him, especially when he had other things to be concerned about. Like the fact that he had apparently slept in! He shot up from the bed faster than a speed bullet and started to get ready for school.

Eren was literally running really late. He usually walked to school but this time he had to fasten his pace quite a bit. He had already missed his first lesson which was literature. He couldn't say that he enjoyed the literature lessons that much, so he was actually relieved. By the time he arrived at school, he'd need to rush to the gym to do PE.

It was a basketball day. After Eren had changed into his dark forest green PE shorts and a white sleeveless top, he rushed into the gym. There was a game going on when he entered but he didn't interrupt anything. Marco Bott, a tall and a kind boy was sitting on the bench close to the entrance and he spotted Eren. "Hi Eren! Where were you this morning?" Marco was in the same home group as him and that's how they knew each other. He had noted that Eren had been absent and now he was curious.

"Hi Bott! To be honest I slept in but don't tell Jean" Eren smirked and looked at Jean who was in the game, skillfully doing his job in the team. He had real talent when it came down to sports. His secret lied in his magnificent sense of teamwork. That's the reason why Jean was always chosen to be the team captain. "Did you miss me?" Eren asked and grinned at Marco. "Jean will not know of that, I promise" Marco snickered. "Hey, you should make the teacher aware of your presence." Eren nodded, and strolled to see Erwin Smith, who was observing the game, leaning to a wall on the opposite side of the gym.

Eren was placed on one of the teams and much to his dismay, he was against Levi. Eren had totally forgot that they were in the same class. Come to think of it, they were actually on many classes together. He decided to avoid him, or at least consider him as a normal player equal to the others. Just another player trying to score points. It worked quite well, until Levi decided to make contact with Eren. Physical contact that is. Eren was just about to run and dunk the ball in the basket, but the last second Levi appeared from left, and tripped Eren by shoving his foot in front of the running Eren's legs.

Eren fell down painfully. He instinctively shot his hands in front of his body before slamming against the wooden floor. He sprained his wrist and got a little burn on his palm. He growled in pain and looked up to Levi with bitter eyes. "Sorry, that was an accident. Didn't intend to", he spoke deadly calm, and sprang away. Reiner grabbed the ball that had fell from Eren's hands and was bouncing on the floor. While Eren was getting up, Reiner ran to the other side of the gym with the ball, attempting to shoot for the goal. Jean, who was defending the basket, got tackled by Reiner and toppled, without falling over. The ball flew in the air and fell through the basket.

"Just what the fuck are you idiots doing!" Eren spoke the words. It was supposed to be a silent whisper to himself, but he ended up yelling it way louder than he was supposed to. He noticed too late. A huge mistake. Both Levi and Reiner glanced at him with murderous eyes. Levi and his friends had such a twisted picture of a fair game. Or then they didn't even intend to play fair but with their own made-up rules.

"Don't whine, you pussy! You are just playing like a girl!" Reiner yelled back at him. Eren was so enraged that he just couldn't leave it like this. "At least I'm not a lunatic prick like you guys!" His team members looked at Eren, amazed. Reiner was furious but smiled smugly. Levi looked as calm as ever, but with the tiniest hint of curiosity seeping out of his eyes. No one ever was courageous enough to stand tall against these people. If Eren's wrist wasn't throbbing painfully and Jean wouldn't have been bruised, he might have kept his mouth shut.

This is when Erwin just had to whistle and come in between to stop the ruckus. "Guys, you need to cut that down right now! Jäger, Braun, Ackerman. You all come have a chat with me." Eren gulped and he could feel the tiniest beads of cold sweat form on his forehead. He exchanged looks with Jean, and then Marco, and they looked both shocked and worried. This was sort of normal for Levi and Reiner and they didn't look out of their character at all. "Jean, you can be the umpire for now, okay?" The tackle he received couldn't have been unseen and he still looked to be in a little pain, so Erwin decided to give him a little brake from running around with the ball. The brunette nodded and quickly walked away from the game, having Marco replace his spot.

The class continued playing, except for the particular students who were led to the changing rooms by Mr. Smith. There they could have the chat with some privacy and peace without attracting too much attention in the class. The changing room was small and square shaped with white walls, the back wall having small windows right below the ceiling. Wooden benches were placed around the room and one wall was covered with lockers. The floor was dark green but it changed into pale brown tiles where there was a door leading to the showers.

The tree students sat down on the bench. Levi and Reiner were close together, shoulders nearly touching, but Eren refused to sit that close to them. He sat at the adjacent wall instead. Erwin was standing in front of them, looking at them being obviously disappointed. "Boys, you should know that this kind of behaviour isn't accepted in any cases. Do you understand? I am really, really disappointed in you." Now he faced Levi "Ackerman. I saw you trip Jäger. Why did you do that?"

Levi rolled his eyes lazily and instead of looking back into Erwin's flaming eyes, he laid his eyes on Eren, his gaze wandering on all over his body from head to toes. "Tch. It wasn't my fault. I was just going to run there for defense but then he got on my way. You can't blame me for a mere accident." Eren looked back at him, speechless from disbelief, furrowing his eyebrows. Seriously, what a guy.

"Jäger, do you have anything to say about this?" The brunette was confused and was at a loss of words. He wasn't too sure whether he should defend himself or surrender to the punks. Defending would be really risky and could lead to some bad consequences later. Surrendering would be so much easier and safer, but how could he just ignore this and let it be? This group had been like this for years. Just for how much longer do people want these punks to carry on, constantly offending people? Something needed to be done in order to stop this. Even if it meant war.

_Surrender or defend? Surrender or defend?_ Eren kept asking himself. The other three present people were waiting for a response from the boy who was struggling to find the right choice. Eventually, Eren made up his mind. _Fight back._ He took a deep breath, and the exhale the following words with it. "I don't believe it was an accident. It was planned. " Levi's eyes widened a tad with surprise. "What do you mean planned?" asked Erwin. "Isn't it just obvious? Two tackles in less than a minute? They were playing together for their own benefit!"

Reiner looked really enraged and ready to explode. Erwin looked determined and nodded at Eren. "Guys, to be honest, I agree with Eren. To me it really seems like it wasn't just an accident." Reiner's face was easy to read. He wasn't really in the mood to fight with a teacher, so he looked down at his feet instead. Levi was staring at Eren and when Eren realized, he would just uncomfortably look away. Erwin was waiting for some sort of a response, but after seeing that none was to come, he proceeded "I don't want to see this happening again. Okay? Unfair game doesn't result in anything pleasant. This time I'll let you go, but if I ever see this happening again, I won't let you join the class anymore, just for the sake of others." Then he faced Eren "And you, Jäger, learn to control your emotions. Don't do anything provocative." All three nodded, even Reiner although he did wince. "Okay, lets go back" Erwin announced.

Erwin had already turned around and was leaving the room. The remaining people in the changing room stood up from the bench and now, Eren was being glared at, with those two pair of eyes, as cold as ice if not colder. Alone, now that Erwin was out of sight, he felt weak against those eyes. He tried his best not to let the fear show. "You little prick..!" Reiner grunted and aggressively approached Eren. The boy was taken aback when Reiner, with those huge hands, grabbed him by his shirt, lifting him up off the floor. That was when the fear suddenly overtook Eren's facial expression. He saw Reiner raising his other fist, ready to punch.

"Reiner. Don't." The muscular blonde froze and he rotated his head to look behind him. Eren was already preparing himself to receive the massive fist on his cheek, adrenaline rushing through his veins, so it was obvious that those two words surprised him. He looked at the source of the voice, and there was the person, standing, lookind dead serious. _What.. What is going on?_ He was looking at the person as if he was some kind of a divine creature, standing there to protect him. "Not now" Levi continued. Reiner growled but let go of the boy, dropping him on the floor with a thud. Reiner turned around and walked out from the room. mumbling and cursing. Levi's eyes followed him but as soon as Reiner had gone past him, his eyes, once more, returned to Eren.

Eren was on the floor on his knees and lifted his head up to see Levi looking down at him. Their eyes met. The raven hair boy's gaze did scare Eren, but at the same time he was also scared to look away from him. The gaze was petrifying. But it felt somewhat special. Levi always looked really dark and ominous, but this time there was something really peculiar in him. He looked _understanding_. For seconds, they were just staring at each other without saying anything. When Eren attempted to stutter some words out, Levi turned around and left the room.

**Hope you enjoyed! In my opinion this chapter was way better than the first one.  
What do you think? :) Reviews are always welcome.**


	3. Brats

A motor was rumbling in front of a block of flats. Fumes were blowing out of the motorbike's exhaust pipe. Soon, the engine was turned off, and a young man got off his ride. Dark brown laced leather boots. White jeans with specks of dirt from autumn's muddy puddles. A black leather jacket.

Levi had arrived home from school and now he was taking off his biking helmet that had covered his entire head during the ride. His hair got a bit messy in the process of removing the helmet, and as soon as he could, he fiddled around with his hair, combing it in its place with his fingers, ensuring he looked perfect. That's how it had to be when it came to his style. Everything had to look perfect and refined.

After locking his ride, ensuring it wouldn't go for a ride alone by itself, he started walking to the apartment block's entrance, keys ready in his hand. In this 8-level high house, his apartment was located on the 7th level. He preferred using the elevator instead of the stairs, because the lights in the stairway were too annoying and troublesome. They would turn off at the most inconvenient times. Levi didn't like it, not one bit. Hardly anybody knew of it, but despite having such a tough appearance, he was actually scared of dark. He would never admit it himself though. Instead of calling it a fear, he called it disliking impractical surroundings.

The elevator doors opened automatically on the 7th floor. Levi stepped into the dark corridor and searched for the light switch. Click. In the brightly lit room he walked to his door, unlocking it. Stepping into his own private sanctuary made him feel content. The corridor floors were dirty and had some muddy food prints of some stupid brats. Sometimes it reeked like cigarette smoke, wet dogs, and other things Levi would call shit. In his home, everything was different.

Everything was sparkling clean, spotless. The air was fresh, and smelled like nothing weird. It smelled clean. Levi didn't own any pets. He couldn't deny the fact that he liked cats but he would never consider adopting one. That would result in too much hair on the furniture. That wouldn't just do, would it?

Levi placed his helmet on a shelf located in the small hall, and removed his boots and jacket. He sighed at the sight of his dirty pants. He mentally slapped his own cheek for wearing white pants that day. Too late. Now they were dirty and he needed to wash them. He walked to his small bathroom, pulled his pants off, and shoved them into the washing basket

Wearing a pair of ebony black boxers and a dark green long sleeved sweater, he marched into his bedroom to find some other pants. His bedroom, like any other room in the flat was really organized. The color theme in his whole apartment was white. That way everything would look really clean and pure. Other colours were mostly different shades of gray, and dark green. Dark green sure was his favourite colour.

It had been another meaningless day at school. Levi was surrounded by idiots, as usual. According to Levi, high school was full of immature brats. For god's sake, even some students aged 17 just like Levi were running around the school yard, making lots of loud noise, having teenager drama, letting their hormones take the control of their body. They were annoying Levi with their irritating presence. Levi's friends were different. Actually Levi himself didn't consider them real friends, but some more mature people who knew how to respect him. They were like comrades. He and his so-called friends shared something together: the hate against those annoying brats.

After finding a pair of some casual, gray pants, and pulling them on, he heard a beeping sound from his bag. He had received a message. He groaned in annoyance. Just after getting home, to his own silent kingdom, ready to relax, somebody was already penetrating his repose. Levi went to pick up the phone anyway. Maybe they'd leave him alone for a second if he dealt with them now.

The name of Bertolt Hoover was showing on the screen. Bertolt was kind of a quiet member of the group. He still had a lot of potential in him, and he appeared intimidating in most of the people's eyes. "What's up with Jäger?" Levi winced at the text on his screen. He had had enough brats for today, for real.

"What about him?" Levi typed quickly and wished he didn't need to go through this conversation. He had sat down on a sofa and made himself feel comfortable on it, and soon he received another message. "Reiner told me. Why didn't you beat him up?"

"It wasn't the time for it."

-"What do you mean? We all dislike him. He deserved a punch or two."

"Shut up. Erwin would have caught us."

-"Since when did you care about the teachers?"

"Look. I would have been happy to beat that brat but in the middle of the fucking class? No. Use your brain or get your ass out of here."

-"Got it."

He didn't reply after that and neither did he receive a message. He was relieved and went to the kitchen to prepare himself a pot of tea. Earl Gray was his favourite without a mistake. Name as gray as Levi's eyes. Taste like a raindrop from heaven.

Eren was an annoying brat who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. A stupid, insufferable, impulsive brat. Stupid unstylish haircut and those big girly, green eyes. Hardworking and getting too excited about everything. Hanging out with his stupid friends. Like Armin the dork. Jean the horseface.

Levi looked out of the kitchen window, watching rain clouds form in the distance. It would probably rain tomorrow. He poured himself a cup of tea. He would never add anything in it. No gay stuff like sugar or honey. Tea was meant to be served the way it was. That is what he believed.

What Levi couldn't tell Bertolt and Reiner was that Levi actually liked this brat. There was something Levi really found fascinating about him. The way he could stand tall against Levi. The willpower in his eyes when he would offend him and Reiner loudly in the class. The guts he had. He was actually really brave and that made Levi really curious. That is the reason, why he didn't let Reiner beat Eren. Levi hadn't got attached to him. He just found him fascinating. It still didn't change the fact that Eren was an utter idiot in his eyes. Or did it?

**Writing this chapter was fun I think! Let me know what you think!  
I would love to get some reviews to help me improve my writing, please :)**


	4. Calm before storm

Lunchtime at school. The sky was of a miserable gray colour and It was pouring down. Every student would most likely spend their lunchtime either in the canteen, library, or the corridors. Nobody was outdoors, except for some people sitting under a gazebo that wasn't a long distance away from the main entrance.

Levi, Reiner and Bertolt were just next to the main entrance, and they were watching the people under the gazebo through a window as they were talking.

"I've noticed something. That stupid pussy Armin really annoys me. He's being such an idiot in the health class! He's acting like he knows everything! Stupid show-off kid. Teacher's pet." Reiner had said. Now it was Bertolt's turn to talk.

"I don't really see this guy on the classes and I don't know much about him. But what I do know is that he sounds really annoying."

-"He should just do a little favour for everybody by learning how to shut his mouth!"

"Maybe we should teach him."

Reiner chuckled at the thought. A nice kick on that pussy's ass would feel good and it would serve Armin's rght. "How's that Levi? Should we go and teach him a lesson?" Levi hadn't talked much since the lunchtime had started. He had been observing the people under the gazebo. Another group of three friends. There was the biggest brat on planet Earth, the horseface, and the wimp of whom Reiner and Bertolt were talking about.

Bertolt and Reiner weren't the only ones who had noticed that Armin was annoying. Their opinion was shared with Levi. "I'd love to. But I'm not in the mood today." The two other tough guys were eyeing Levi with surprise.

"Come on Levi! What's wrong with you? You have gotten too soft!" stated Reiner.

"Yeah! You have been acting weird!"

"This is because of that stupid Eren, isn't it?"

Levi's eyes widened the tiniest bit. He was looking at the particular person under the gazebo, laughing at something. At Armin, Levi assumed. His mouth was moving. Maybe he was telling something weird.

"Tch. What makes you think it's Eren?"

-"Just two days before you refused to beat him." Bertolt said.

Levi took his eyes away from the gazebo and glared at Bertolt. "Because I didn't feel like it."

-"Are you sick or something Levi? You don't feel like doing anything. It has to be about Eren." Reiner announced.

"Shut the fuck up. As if I even cared about that brat. I hate him." Levi's voice was really cold and that left Bertolt and Reiner speechless. After a few seconds Levi broke the silence. "Fine, lets do it."

He knew that his intentions were highly questioned and it was too troublesome getting this weird shit from his friends. It was easier to say yes than keep going on like this.

"That's more like it!" Reiner cheered.

The bell went, declaring the lunchtime to be over. "Oh shit I totally forgot my science homework! I'm done for!" Eren shrieked. It was just normal for Eren to complain like this every now and then, so Jean and Armin didn't even react to it in any way. "Oi, Eren, lets meet at the lockers after the lesson, okay?" They had planned to meet after school at Armin's place. "Got it, meet you there!" After running through the heavy rain and entering the school building, the three friends parted their ways. They didn't notice the tough guys staring at them when they had rushed through the doors.

After his IT class, Armin decided to rush to the lockers as quick as he could. He didn't want to keep Eren waiting if he had already made it there. Armin needed to pick up some maths books from his locker for studying before heading back home and that's why they had promised to meet there. The school corridors were full of students swarming around, finding their umbrellas and eventually finding their way out.

When Armin arrived at the lockers, he didn't see Eren around. It was alright though, he would just find his own locker and do what he had planned while waiting. He opened his small locker with his keys and opened his bag ready to shove the books in. But then... "Oh look, the bookworm boy." Armin knew the voice belonged to Reiner Braun, and felt chills run down his spine. He turned around and saw him. And two other guys. Bertolt and Levi, surprise, surprise. _Oh no, what do they want from me?!_ Armin was helplessly looking around, not even sure what to look for. "Say, do you like your books?" Reiner was now towering over Armin, smirking down at him. Armin's whole body was trembling and all he managed to do was stutter out some syllables. "Speak up boy, we can't hear you!" Bertolt demanded.

Armin had never known how to defend himself against bullies. He was always good at giving advice to other people but he wasn't the one to encounter the bullies himself. Many people at the lockers were watching the scene, but sadly, nobody interfered. Armin was really scared. "Uh... I.. I gu-guess so" he managed to stutter.

"You have to speak louder!" Reiner spat at him aggressively. Armin shrieked in response. "And you need to leave him alone!" A new voice announced. This guy got the attention of all the bystanders, bullies and Armin. "EREN!" the blonde boy shouted. Armin felt really embarassed but hopeful.

The first thing Eren saw when entering the hallway was a group of students gathered around something. It didn't take a long time from Eren to spot the tall figure of Bertolt sticking out from the crowd. That's when he knew what was going on.

Eren bravely pushed himself through the crowd. Now he was standing before Reiner and his people, with his famous determined eyes. Eren couldn't understand why they were after Armin. He was so innocent! Then again, maybe the innocence caused this. The other thing he could think of was himself. Were they doing this because of the things that had happened between Eren and the punks? Oh dear lord...

"What happens if we don't?" Reiner stepped back from Armin to face Eren, smirking. "You don't even want to know what will happen. Now. Tell me, what are you doing here?"

"We were just having a friendly talk here. It seems that he got scared of us though." Bertolt chuckled and Armin blushed a bit. He was being humiliated in front of many students.

"Listen, if this shit is because of me, I think you people are pathetic!" Many gasps were heard from the bystanders mouths. "Eren, please don't!" Armin was worried, but was getting even more worried every second, and his voice was full of grief. Eren ignored him. "Why would you attack my innocent friend when you could have come to me?"

Levi had not said a thing yet. He was a silent observer, as always. But Eren just knew that it was about being calm before a storm. And now the storm came in, rumbling. After Eren's latest words, it happened. Eren got a quick and a powerful fist on his face. Eren's head was forced back and he yelled in pain, holding his cheek with his hand. He would definitely get a bruise there later. People around the scene were in terror, especially Armin. "Eren!" he yelled and tried to go for help, but Bertolt grabbed Armin from his arms and held him still.

Eren angrily looked at Levi, whose face, not to Eren's surprise, was deadly calm."You son of a..." Eren started, but then Levi furrowed his eyebrows, and landed a kick just below Eren's kneecaps, making him fall down on his knees. Then he landed another kick on Eren's chest, making him fall on his back.

"Eren! No! Eren!" Armin kept yelling out his best friend's name and felt really helpless. What could he have done when the 2-meter punk was holding him still, and right next to them was a musclebeast who was about as strong as Levi was.

"Jäger. Hate me much? Hmm? Do you despise me?" Levi spoke. Eren's mouth was bleeding as he had accidentally bitten his own cheek when Levi had hit him. He spat the blood on the floor, and growled, still holding his cheek. It was painful, but he still managed to get up. "I don't want you to get the pleasure from me answering that question." Eren spat in disgust.

He was really brave and again, Levi was quite impressed. However, he couldn't let the crowd see it. He had to act cool. Just the way he was expected to act. He grasped Eren's left shoulder, and with his other hand, he punched him in the stomach, receiving some more groans from the brunette. "Don't get too cheeky, brat. You don't benefit from it in any way." Coldly, he looked at Eren who was hissing at the shorter guy.

Finally, Levi looked back to Reiner and Bertolt. "Come on, lets go." He walked away, the two other guys following him.

Armin, who was let go by Bertolt, ran to Eren to help him. He felt so disgusted about the bystander students that eventually left the scene without even lending their hands. "Eren! I'm so sorry about this. Are you okay?" He asked hastily. Eren still had his eyes on the tough guys walking away, and noticed how Levi took one last look at Eren. There was something weird about Levi. He had a hint of _regret_ in his eyes. Levi turned his face away from Eren again, and soon he was out of sight.

"Can you hear me Eren? Please say something!"

-"Oh don't worry pal. It's nothing..."

"Don't say that! This is all my fault..."

-"Armin, this is NOT your fault! It's nobody's fault. Those guys are just being some huge pricks."

"But if I hadn't been so weak, you wouldn't have needed to come and save me.."

-"Seriously Armin. Don't blame yourself. Lets just relax and head to your place, okay?"

"If you say so... Yeah, we can patch you up when we get to there."

_Group pressure is a rotten thing_, Levi thought to himself.

**How did you like it? Please write a review and let me know your opinions. Reviews would inspire me a lot! :)**


	5. Haze

The beige button-down shirt that Eren was wearing had been undone. "Eren! These bruises look so bad!" Armin gasped. Eren's beautifully toned stomach had a big spot of blue hue. Above, on his chest, was a similar kind of bruise, just a little bit smaller. That's where Levi's heel had hit him.

Eren looked down at his body and sighed. "Don't worry, they will disappear eventually. They don't hurt at all! My back is sore though." He looked puzzled.

"That must have been the impact from hitting the floor... Hey, I'll get you something cold for your cheek!" Eren nodded at him and watched Armin skip to the freezer. The so-called kitchen of Armin was actually a part of the living room. Armin's apartment was really small, after all. Armin searched the freezer and then he found a bag of peas and tossed it to Eren. "Here, try these!"

Eren caught the bag of peas flying at him, and placed the cold bag against his cheek. It was throbbing a bit. And talk about swollen! Eren winced at the sudden coldness on his cheek, and sat down on an arm-chair. "I don't really fancy going to school tomorrow if my face doesn't settle down! He could have saved my face at least..." It was Friday tomorrow and the weekend was on the verge of starting. Missing one day wouldn't be too bad, Eren thought.

Armin felt really guilty because of the whole scene that had happened before no less than 20 minutes. "I'm so sorry Eren. I should have just been brave against those bullies myself. Then this wouldn't have happened to you..."

Eren's eyes widened. "Armin. Are you crazy? If you had to take the beating, it would had been even worse!"

"Oh no that's not what I meant." He looked really sad now. Even his voice was cracking a bit. "I actually know a way how they would have just left me alone... But I'm such a coward and get scared too easily!"

Eren placed his hand on Armin's shoulder in an encouraging manner. "Oi, even I was scared back then. Don't be too harsh on yourself!" Eren smiled at Armin weakly, but then he got serious again. "But wait. You said you know a way of getting rid of those people?"

Armin nodded. "Well, think of this. If you didn't react to the bullies dramatically, they wouldn't be interested in you any more."

Eren was lost already. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you saw what happened to me. They smelled fear and that encouraged them to make their move."

-"Well... I guess that makes sense... But what about me? I'm not letting the fear show!"

"In your case, you are being too bold. They are getting big reactions from you Eren, and they like it!"

Eren looked confused and shook his head although that made so much sense now. "So you need to be more neutral... Don't show big emotions..."

"Exactly! Just come to think of it, why is everybody so scared of Levi?"

-"Well... He just is scary. I don't know how to put it, really."

"Let me help you. What actually makes him so scary is the cold acting. Think of this. He sure is vicious but when he acts, he does it with control."

This hit Eren like a lightning. How could Armin be so smart? Sometimes he was so smart that Eren got scared. "Just when did you... How did you become aware of that?"

Armin chuckled softly. "I don't know... The idea just came to me."

"Armin. You are a genius!" Eren smiled widely. "I retake my words. No matter what my face looks like tomorrow, I'll go to school. Not going would make them more excited, right?"

"Yes" Armin nodded. "..But do you really think you can control your emotions?"

"Haha, who knows... But I have to try, eh? I won't let them keep going on like this."

Armin really admired Eren's willpower. It was something that Armin himself lacked. On the other hand, Armin also had something that Eren didn't. These friends completed each other, and Armin felt so grateful to have this boy as his friend.

Levi knew the day would be rainy before the whole day had even existed. That's why he didn't go to school on his motorbike that day. It would have been too messy. He didn't want his Harley Davidson get muddier than it already was from the other day, not to mention his clothes. Therefore, he was on the bus this afternoon. He hated buses. Screaming toddlers and children bouncing around. Stuffy air. Often so many people that you wouldn't get a chance to sit down. You'd need to stand in the middle of the bus aisle and feel other people squeezed tight against you. He didn't enjoy it at all. He needed his own space.

This time the bus was quite empty, much to his liking. He was sitting on one of the back seats, next to a hazy window. If somebody from school had seen him there, they would have been able to tell that Levi was being out of his character there. He was staring at some vague spot on the window and absent-mindedly drawing circles on it's misty glass surface.

He was deep in thought, that's all it was. _Group pressure is a rotten thing_, Levi had thought earlier. The thought was still occupying his mind and he was sick of those six words hovering inside of his skull. And his whole body. His unconscious could have sworn that no cell in his entire body really wanted to offend Armin or beat Eren. But that was just his unconscious and honestly Levi wasn't sure if he should have listened to his unconscious or not. To put it in words, he was really confused.

So many things were swimming in his sea of thoughts and he didn't even know how to deal with them. Instead, he knew he wasn't capable of dealing with them all, not by himself. Much to his dismay, he had nobody who he could have told about his mixed feelings. What he really needed to do was write a journal entry.


	6. Dear diary

Thursday, October 16

I live for myself. So why should I use my life trying to please everybody else? I'm me and I really don't care what people think about me as long as they respect me.

No. I do care of what some people think of me. Today I acted against my nature because otherwise I would have looked puny in some people's eyes. If I had silently stood next to the scene doing nothing, Reiner and Bertolt would have started bitching around again. As if I wanted it.

So. What happened today? I agreed to go and "teach Armin a lesson". I really didn't find it necessary, but Reiner and Bertolt started the bitching so I had no other chance but to say yes. We assaulted him after the last lesson.

When Reiner was offending Armin, I was trying to think of a way of doing something nasty to live up to my "friends'" expectations. But it felt too unnatural because I really didn't feel like it...

I think I was feeling relatively alright until that brat appeared. For some reason, seeing Eren increased my irritation level to the maximum. I don't want to admit it to myself but I actually find this guy interesting. He is strong and brave, and I like it. Being seen by him while offending his best friend wasn't what I wanted. I just wanted to escape the whole situation. But I couldn't just walk away, could I?

I had to do something and quick. And that's why I suddenly hit Eren without a warning. I knew that a little beating would look neat before escaping the scene. But hitting Armin would have been too much because I don't want to disappoint Eren. (WHY?)

Seeing Eren's bleeding face for the last time really struck me. It was far from what I wanted.

I want to fit in my group. I'd love to say that these are the only people whose thoughts concern me. But what's up with Eren? Why do I care about him? Why don't I want him to hate me? I hate him though. He has no right to mess up with my mind like this.

This guy. I want to punch and please him at the same time. (That sounded really wrong...) What am I even saying..? Aurgh. Troublesome people like him should just cease from existence.

Levi woke up in a dim room lit by some flickering lights from the TV screen. It was late night and he was lying on his stomach on the sofa. He had no idea how he had got there, until he noticed his black, leather-bound journal just a few inches away from his head that was still pressed against the sofa. He had fallen asleep while trying to understand his feelings that made so little sense.

Some shitty soap opera was going there on the TV and Levi searched for the remote to turn that crap off. His head was still hurting from all the confusing thoughts scattered around his mind and he decided to do something to draw them away. He got off the sofa, placed his journal and the writing tools neatly on a small coffee table, and walked to his bedroom. He grabbed his bass from it's stand by the wall, sat on the edge of his bed, and gently started strumming the chords.

The low, silent notes, and the sound of Levi's slender fingers picking the strings filled the room and he felt secure. Dwelling in his music, he looked through the window. The almost-full moon was up with some drowsy looking clouds around it. Gloomy yet beautiful. Lonely. Observing the city below.

The same moon was watching everyone, he thought. Everyone, he repeated in his head over and over, and then, the image of Eren popped up in his mind. Not him again. Levi got frustrated and that's when he groaned and created the ugliest discord ever with his bass.

It was rare for Levi to be angry at himself. But this time he couldn't help it. He was really disappointed because he couldn't understand his own feelings. Why on earth did he care about a foolish brat? He didn't even know Eren that well. They had never had a real conversation because Levi had always tried to ignore him as much as he could. That was until Eren bumped into him in the history class the other day.

First the kid was scared of Levi, and Levi really did look down to him. Such a stupid coward. But really quickly, the things changed. In the PE lesson next day Eren was actually calling Levi and Reiner lunatics in front of the whole class. That's when Levi became curious. He saw something special in Eren and that's the reason why he didn't let Reiner beat him. The look in Eren's eyes after Reiner had left the changing room was intense but charming and adorable. It was a beautiful sight, Levi had thought, and something really moved inside of him.

Eren made Levi feel flammable. Fragile. Vulnerable. It was like a game of cat and mouse but he had no idea which role was his. He wanted to deny it so hard but in the end, it just couldn't be helped.

Levi suddenly froze and stopped strumming his instrument. He stared at his feet while placing his bass on his bed. He stood up, strolled back to the dark living room, and turned the lights on. He went back to his journal and wrote one more sentence on it.

_Dear diary. Please tell me that I am NOT falling for this stupid brat._


	7. Hummingbird

Today Eren was full of confidence. He couldn't care less about other students' opinions on his bruised face. Vice versa, he was proud of the bruise because he was seen as a hero for saving Armin from the punks. Eren's eyes were bursting with fire just like the sun. The sun that was once again covered with rain clouds.

The first lesson today was PE. Eren knew that he had to deal with Levi today, but it didn't scare him at all. Actually, he was prepared.

Before dismissing his class last time, Erwin had told his class that they would be running laps around the field with a timer today. Eren hoped that Erwin had made a change of plans because Eren was pretty confident that he didn't want to run in the rain. It wasn't as bad as yesterday, but bad enough when asked from Eren.

Marco and Jean were in the gym changing room at school. They were sitting on a bench close to each other and having a casual chat. "Did you see Mikasa's new haircut?!" Jean was really excited and flushed. It was obvious that he had his eyes on her, but he still did his best to hide it from people he didn't know that well. Marco was no problem. He was Jean's best bro.

"Yeah, I think it looks great! But maybe a bit too short though."

-"What do you mean a bit too short? It's beautiful! And looks shinier than ever!"

"Oh, of course! But in my opinion she really went for too short, but it will grow long soon again!"

-"Everything looks perfect on her..." Jean sighed and blushed.

"Then why don't you tell her what you think?"

Nobody else was in the room so it was impossible for the two teens to not notice someone else's presence appearing in the room. Jean felt perturbed and a bit shocked to learn that someone had heard him talking about Mikasa, but relaxed when he realized it was just Eren. However, him coming in was a reminder that he should be a bit more quiet about Mikasa. Don't get too excited, Jean.

"Eren, you almost scared me! Don't just appear out of nowhere like that!" Jean growled as he still had a faint blush on his face. He received an amused snort from Eren and Marco chuckled gently.

They two guys noticed the bruise on Eren's cheek and looked at each other. They had heard rumors about what had happened yesterday, but they weren't sure whether they should have believed or not. Now they believed, but didn't mention the bruise.

Eren landed his bag next to Marco and Jean and started changing his clothes, which the two other guys had already done. He saw that Jean had a sleeveless top and a pair shorts as usual, but Marco had longer pants and a track jacket. "Do you think Erwin is really going to make us run outside?"

"No way. If he will, he'd be insane." Jean grunted. On the other hand, Marco replied "I don't know. I sure agree that he'd be crazy if he did, but you never know." Eren was eyeing the two other guys' outfits. He had brought shorts with him because he was pretty sure that they wouldn't go and run outside. "I think everyone would catch a cold if we were to follow the original plans. He can't force us there!" Eren stated, and got an "exactly" from Jean in return.

After the bell had gone, Eren was really getting pumped, waiting for Levi. He appeared, but without any company. Reiner was missing, and therefore the short guy was alone. Eren was practically staring at him when he had entered, but Levi didn't seem to notice. He didn't even look at Eren.

The room was getting really loud as the arriving students' chatter filled it. Finally, Erwin came to the changing rooms to meet his students. He greeted them with a strong _good morning_ as usual, and while he was writing down all the names of the present students on his thick notebook, the students were nervously waiting for him to announce his plans. Eventually, he did, and despite the complaints of some students like Jean's "But I don't have anything warm to wear!", he chose to take them outside. "We have to do this today! Just take a warm shower afterwards."

And out they went. Their breath was steaming in the air as they were doing their stretching in a shelter by the field. They were feeling more or less anxious about their fate. Even Eren was disappointed, but decided to stay cool and not whine. It was just one lesson, right? He could do it.

The students lined up on the running track. Eren and Marco were next to each other on the back row, and Eren was looking around him. He couldn't see Jean who was in the front, but he spotted Levi, who in fact, was right in front of Eren, rainwater running down his hair. _He still hasn't looked at me once_, Eren thought.

Erwin who was wearing a warm-looking raincoat, blew his whistle and started the timer. His students started jogging. They were starting slowly, and eventually they would fasten their pace. 10 laps ahead.

Eren had quite a nice run and he had one of the best results. The best time was Connie Springer's, or _Sprinter_'s as some called him. Jean was second, Levi third, and Eren fourth. Not that it was a competition, but Eren felt a bit disappointed, having lost to Levi. The top three got appreciative looks from other students and Eren kind of wanted to be one of them. Too bad.

Although Jean had been the second, he didn't feel that happy at all. He was feeling really cold and the wet clothes stuck to his skin didn't make him feel any better. Well, he wasn't the only one, everybody else was wet as well. Crazy Erwin. He put his students through such a torture.

Marco had run past the finish line about two minutes after Eren. "Eek.. It's so cold!" He hissed and was still panting when he reunited with Eren and Jean. They were walking back to the gym, each one of them shivering. "At least you have long pants and everything..." Jean moaned. "Oops, that's right, ehehe! I feel sorry for you Jean. And everybody else. I think we all need a hot shower."

The showers were busy as about 20 students were ice cold and finding their way to the warm water. There were only 10 showers and Eren and his friends were lucky to get to there first. The ones who weren't quick enough to go to the shower before others were shivering in the changing room, having towels wrapped around them.

At first, the hot water was burning Eren's skin, but soon it started to feel really good and his blood started running faster in his veins again, warming him up. His fingers and toes were tingling and that felt a bit uncomfortable though.

As the hot water was running down his naked body, he saw Levi enter the showers, having a towel securely wrapped around his waist. Their eyes met, but Levi quickly drew his eyes away, and calmly walked to a shower located in the back corner of the room. He was obviously avoiding eye contact with everybody and Eren chuckled in his mind. Was Levi embarassed? It really looked like it, especially when Levi was facing the wall, as if trying to hide from others. Eren was eyeing him and his back. _Just who takes a shower with a towel wrapped around them like that_?

When Eren noticed that Jean and Marco were done and leaving the room to get some clothes on, he dropped his eyes off of Levi and turned the shower off. He followed his friends and made some space for those still shivering in the changing room.

Having pulled his underwear on, he was roughly drying his hair with his towel. He was thinking of Levi, being a bit upset for that he had not approached Eren. He had even mentally prepared himself for facing this toughie! But just what was Levi doing? Something was off and even Eren could tell it.

Levi had returned to the changing room right after Eren had pulled his jeans on. Apparently this guy had had another towel ready just by the shower entrance. He had removed the wet towel from his waist and replaced it with a dry one. He had squeezed most of the excess water off of the other towel, and in the changing room he placed it in a white plastic bag. What a weird guy.

"Eren, we are going to Ms. Zoe, we need to see her before the next lesson to return our assignments, if that's okay." Marco spoke, and Eren nodded. "Okay, see you later!" A few people were leaving the room along Jean and Marco.

Still drying his hair, Eren couldn't help but look at Levi, who started getting dressed. Always facing the wall, always having that towel there until he had pulled his boxers on. He was avoiding others again and Eren felt puzzled.

After pulling his black jeans on, Levi finally turned around, still shirtless. He caught Eren red-handed from staring at him. Eren didn't drop his gaze, but bravely looked back into Levi's eyes.

_Oh dear. Is this brat perverted or something_? Levi thought and glared at Eren with disgust. _Watching me getting dressed. Seriously_. Eren had a really steady look in him. And when Levi noticed Eren wasn't going to stop staring, he mumbled something. "What are you staring at, you perverted piece of shit?"

_Stay cool_, Eren recalled. He tilted his head slightly as he replied "At you. What else would I be looking at?" Eren felt many people looking at him with surprise and he pulled a red hoodie over his head to keep himself warm.

Levi was taken aback but felt irritated at the same time. He didn't actually know what to think or how to react. "Tch." was all he managed to say, and Eren felt smug for being able to make the other guy shut up just like that.

Levi proceeded in getting dressed by taking out a white t-shirt and pulling it over his head. Since it was a cool day, he also wore a black sweater on top.

After a minute or two, some people were still having showers, and Eren and Levi were the only people in the changing room. Levi's hair was still a bit damp but he picked up his bag and was about to leave the room.

When he had reached the door leading out of the room, he heard speech. "Don't forget your towel." Levi turned around on his heels and saw Eren standing there by the bench, holding the plastic bag that Levi had had.

_How embarassing_... Levi cursed in his mind and approached Eren. "Gimme that", he mumbled and grabbed the bag from Eren's hands, instantly turning around to leave.

What Eren said next wasn't that wise. "Where are your manners? It doesn't hurt to say thank you, you know."

Levi froze and faced Eren once more. "It doesn't. But not knowing how to shut up does" he warned.

"Come on, I just did you a favor... What's up with the towel anyway?"

-"Fuck off. It's none of your business, you asswipe."

"If you say so. Just don't abandon your wet towels and leave them lying around like that next time. I won't return them to you again if you are like that. Nobody will." Eren sighed and was about to walk to another bench to retrieve his own bag.

Anger had been growing inside Levi and now he was furious. Just after Eren had turned around, having his back facing Levi, his jumper was vigorously grabbed from the hood. Eren groaned as he felt a low sweeping kick against his calves and totally lost his balance. He would have fell all the way down on the floor if it wasn't Levi having a tight grip on his hood. His whole body was dragged along with Levi when the enraged boy fiercely walked out of the room. Levi dragged him through the door leading to a corridor, and then through another door that lead to the dim gym. He totally ignored Eren who was begging for Levi to let go of him at once.

He aggressively pushed Eren against the cold gym wall, making his head thud against the tough surface. Levi was so irritated that he couldn't resist punching Eren in the stomach again. This resulted into Eren's knees buckling a bit and as that had happened, the shorter guy got the chance to grab him from his hair with one hand. Eren was hanging from Levi's hand so that the eyes of him and Levi were on the same level.

Eren felt the other guy placing his hand fimly behind Eren's back, pulling him so close that their stomachs were touching. Eren's back was arched backwards.

The room was dim, but Eren could tell that Levi was looking deep into his eyes. Eren looked back at him but was clearly panicking and gasping for air.

"Let go of me..."

-"Brats like you greatly annoy me."

"Please..."

-"I wish there was a world where I wouldn't need to deal with you."

"I apologize my behaviour... Please.. Let me go..!"

-"You are so foolish and irrational. Just who do you think you are?"

"Levi.. please.."

-"You sure got guts but..."

Levi pulled the other boy's face closer and loosened the grip on his hair the slightest bit. He was listening to Eren gasping and whimpering, eyeing his face with his grey, cold eyes. Finally, he let out a husky whisper. "I hate you."

Next, Eren's eyes flew wide open. His face was pulled even closer, and roughly, Levi had pressed his lips against Eren's.

Firmly yet softly, Levi had locked the brunette's lips between his own, and his heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird's.

If Eren would have told that it wasn't the most confusing moment of his life, he would have lied. He was so shocked and frightened, but also, he couldn't deny that Levi's lips felt wonderful on his own. They were firm but soft. They made Eren feel so secure that magically his whimpers grew silent, or even non-existent.

It was a simple kiss. No brushing or tongues. Just one long lip lock. Levi pulled away slowly, and opened his eyes that had an unusual softness to them. What had lasted for only a few seconds, felt like a small eternity for both of them.

Levi looked at the panting Eren for a few more seconds without either one of them speaking a word. Then Levi looked away, pushed Eren against the wall, picked up his plastic bag from the floor and rushed away from the gym and the whole building, leaving the other boy behind.

Eren leaned against the wall, trying to figure out what had just happened. Whatever that was about, he wouldn't tell his friends. He just had this feeling inside that this was meant to be kept as a secret.

**Thanks for you people who are reading and those who are writing reviews!  
I really worked hard on this chapter and I would love you to tell what you think.**


	8. Placebo

For some obvious reasons, Levi didn't show up in the other classes after the perplexing encounter with a certain brunette. Eren took notice that he couldn't see Levi anywhere during the lunch time, and finally he confirmed his absence during the last lesson of psychology where he should have been.

Eren was highly puzzled for the rest of the day after the encounter. Armin had noticed it in the psychology class and kept asking if something was wrong. Eren would have loved to tell him the truth. Maybe he would have if he hadn't promised himself not to tell about the kiss to anybody. Each time Armin questioned his behavior, Eren would always tell him that everything was okay and nothing special was going on, and then he would continue doing the group task that they were assigned to do in the class.

Although he tried to do his best in the classes, Eren just couldn't concentrate enough to do his work properly while the memory of being roughly embraced by Levi was still lingering in his mind. Why would Levi have done that? To Eren it was nearly crystal clear that Levi was just toying around with him. What else would it have been? Eren was really curious to find out the real reason.

What Eren had felt earlier was real fear. Anybody would have been scared when somebody dragged them to a dark room for a beating! When Levi was hitting Eren, he felt totally helpless and he thought it would never end. He knew that nobody would have come to help. But then the kiss had come in and suddenly Eren felt so relaxed. Afterwards he actually admitted himself that he had liked it. It was kind of scary, the way Levi was so capable of manipulating Eren's emotions. He was dangerous, and therefore Eren chose not to tell anyone.

The long-waited weekend came, and the two days of freedom passed by way too quickly. If asked from Eren, he would have loved to have at least 3 days off. It was Monday again and now he was sitting in the psychology class again. Much to his surprise, Levi had come to the class.

"Today you are working on your group tasks. I recommend taking out the laptops and searching information online. If you need any help, feel free to ask me!" Their petite teacher, Petra Ral announced. Then she noticed Levi sitting at his desk. "Oh, welcome back Mr. Ackerman! We are working in small groups of 2-3 people. Do you have a group?"

Levi shook his head "No, miss." Petra gave him a subtle smile and said "You can join any group. -Whose group can take Levi in?"

The whole class stared at Levi, then at Petra, and then at Levi again. Not many people would volunteer for taking him in their group. One hand was risen.

"We can take him, miss!"

All students turned to look at Eren and his partner Armin looked shocked. Levi didn't look pleased at all. "Tch."

Eren received a thank you from Petra and he gave her a soft, short smile in response.

As Levi was collecting his bag from the floor, Armin turned to Eren and softly slapped his thigh and whispered "Eren, are you crazy?!" He was really shocked and although he was really smart, he couldn't come up with an explanation for Eren's behavior.

"Shh", Eren hissed and watched Levi walk to the laptop closet to grab a laptop before walking to Eren and Armin.

Levi pulled a free chair from another desk and pulled it to Eren and Armin's desks. He sat down next to Armin, sharing the desk with him. Levi looked annoyed as ever, glaring at the two guys. Armin still thought that this wasn't a wise idea.

"So, what are you working on?" Levi asked as he sat down and opened the laptop.

"The Placebo effect" Armin replied timidly.

Levi looked at them eerily. "What are you idiots waiting for, get your laptops and start working!"

Eren and Armin got off their chairs and did as they were told. When they returned, Levi asked "So, what have you done so far?"

"Searching for information." Eren said.

-"...And? Did you write it down?" Levi asked and looked intimidating, especially to Armin.

"Not yet." Eren answered. Levi sighed in frustration. "You dorks... Armin, look for the information and write it down. I'll do that as well. Eren, you look for cases of placebo effect." Armin and Eren looked at the bossy guy questioningly. They were actually impressed. Who knew he was good at being a leader.

They all started working, the blonde and brunette following Levi's instructions.

Armin was writing some messy notes on his notebook. "_Placebo effect - ie. Healing by believing in fake medicine_."

Eren was looking up for cases of the psychological phenomenon. "_Doctors performed placebo or sham surgeries for many years._" Eren was reading an article, scrolling down, and then suddenly something popped up on his screen. It was his school email. From Levi.

"Go to hell." said the email and Eren looked at Levi from behind his laptop. Levi was looking back at him slyly but annoyed. Eren shook his head and returned to his work without replying Levi.

After a minute or so another message popped up. "Fuck you." Eren looked at Levi again but this time he seemed to either be really into his work or then ignoring Eren.

This time Eren decided to reply. Before starting the writing, he ensured that Armin wasn't looking at Eren's screen. "Wow, you seem to be happy today! Excuse me, but I'm trying to do my work as you ordered me to."

-"Wow, being nice and obedient, eh? What are you, a maid?"

"That's right. I'm your maid. How would you like your coffee served, sir?"

-"Shoved up your ass."

"Excuse me?"

-"Not interested in your cheap coffee, bitch."

"Is there anything else you'd like me to do? If not, then please let me do my work."

No reply from Levi. The rest of the lesson they spent their time working on their project. However, a few minutes before the lesson ended, Levi sent one more email. "I'd like you to meet me behind the gym after school."

That message was really unexpected and it confused Eren. He gave a quick questioning look at Levi. "What do you mean meet you after school?"

-"If you value your life, do it."

"Do I need to bring my knee pads and a helmet?" Eren asked ironically. However, Levi had already logged off and now he was putting his laptop away and missed the last message.

Eren did value his life, so it appeared he had no other option but to go meet Levi after the history class. They had the same lesson but Levi tried to ignore Eren as much as possible. No talking, no eye-contacts.

After the lesson had ended, Levi had left quickly without attracting much attention. He had strolled behind the gym with low profile. He was a natural at being stealthy. Eren had been a bit slower in his movements, and when he finally got to the place, he saw Levi sitting on a bench, leaning his back against the wall, eyes shut.

"Here I am. Why did you act so swiftly?" Eren asked and Levi lazily rotated his head to face Eren. "Tch. Don't you understand that I can't be seen with you?"

Eren walked to the bench and sat down, leaving somewhat wide a gap between him and Levi. He was being careful just to be on the safe side.

"Okay I get it. You have to maintain your high ego and in order to do so you can't hang around with brats like me."

-"I'm impressed some brainless brat like you figured that out."

"Wow, did you just pay me a compliment? I'm flattered. You are almost treating me like a normal person."

-"Normal person my ass."

"Where are your friends by the way?"

-"Not here. And that's why I'm talking to you."

Eren's eyes widened and he looked as curious as a little mouse, his big eyes fixed on Levi's cool face. After a moment, Levi proceeded. "Do you understand why I beat you up?"

Eren was taken aback. "Umm... Maybe because you dislike me and-"

"Listen. I only did it because of Reiner and Bertolt."

-"What do you mean?"

"Tch. Stop being so stupid. What do you think they would have done to me if I didn't act as they expected me to?"

-"Yeah I understand that part, but what about last Friday?"

"You tell me."

Eren got really flustered and stood up from the chair, standing in front of Levi. "And how am I supposed to tell you? To be honest I don't quite understand you. You say you beat me up because of the group pressure, but why did you do it later when they weren't there? When anybody else wasn't there? And on top of that you even decided to k-"

-"Shut up Eren or I need to do hit you again!" Levi warned.

"All that talk about me being irrational but how about you? You have no idea how little sense that ma-"

Levi had had enough of this blabbing. He fiercely stood up from the bench and confronted Eren. He walked up close to him and slapped Eren's face. "How am I supposed to have a decent conversation with you if you get so flustered?" Levi was furious.

Eren hissed at his throbbing cheek. He knew that this time it wouldn't leave a bruise like earlier, but he still didn't like the sensation. He decided to let Levi know. "Okay, okay, I'll try to control myself but could you please stop hitting me in return?"

That made Levi wince and look away. "I'm sorry for that..." he muttered, and that made the other boy's eyes widen. _Did he just say sorry_?

Levi snapped out of it, and returned to his own cool self. "Just calm down and listen, will you?" he hissed.

"You see Eren, I don't want to be messing around with you. It's just that you keep getting on my way. And my friends don't like you."

-"Your friends... How about you?"

"Shut up brat."

-"Come on, I'm just curious!"

"Okay fine I guess you are alright. A bit noisy and annoying though. Happy now?"

-"Thanks Levi! I suppose you are not as bad as people think!"

"Tch..."

Then, Eren's tone of voice changed and he sounded a bit worried. "Hey. I know you don't like my questions, but umm... Why did you... Kiss me?"

The question made Levi glare at Eren viciously, but at least the brat had showed him some respect this time and Levi calmed down. "You really want to know? Maybe it was for nothing. Maybe it happened because I could." He lied. It wasn't because he _could_. It was because he _needed it_. His answer sounded a bit clumsy, but it was enough. He knew that Eren wouldn't ask more about it due to the fear of making Levi angry.

Eren looked puzzled and tilted his head. "I still don't get it..."

Levi sighed and shook his head. "All you have to know is that I don't want to hurt you or your friends."

-"Can I trust you?"

"Believe me, I mean it."

-"You are actually a nice guy, Levi. If you were like this all the time, I think it wouldn't be too bad being your friend."

Levi couldn't help but be a bit surprised. He flinched, then thought for a few seconds, and then said "I don't want you to be my friend, Eren." After saying so, he slid his hand in his jeans' front pocket and drew a paper slip. He handed it to Eren.

"See you later, brat." Levi said and left.

-"...Wait!" Eren shouted, but Levi didn't turn back anymore.

Eren sighed and looked at the folded paper slip in his hand. The paper appeared to have been torn from a notebook, but very neatly. Eren opened the fold and discovered something interesting. What he saw on the paper was a series of 10 hand-written numbers and below them was Levi's name. It was his phone number.

**Thanks for the readers and the awesome reviews! :)  
Again, I was working really hard on the chapter. Dialogue isn't my strongest area in writing, so I hope I managed to make it good enough!**


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